Fastest Growing Occupation

“There are currently about 2.5 million home care workers in a workforce that is the fastest growing occupation in the nation,” according to Carol Regan, Government Affairs Director at PHI (Paraprofessional Health Institute). Care N Assist is seeing this growth. We continue to see our offices working hard to recruit, train, and then use turnover prevention tactics to stay ahead of the growth we are seeing.

Recruiting home care aides has changed since we opened in 2005. I remember having a file full of applications which required no advertising for help wanted. I would pull them out and “cherry pick” the best applications before calling and setting up interviews. That is not the case today.

Today, we spend several hours each week working to recruit the best possible home care aides. We use internet and multimedia platforms to advertise to our prospective employees. We often put people on the job the same week they inquire about work.

Many people are coming to us with little or no experience in healthcare. We don’t require them to have a license or degree for most of our work, but it is important for them to be able to perform the tasks which our clients require with proficiency. We have a training module that recognizes the skills they come with, and seeks to improve and direct those skills depending on our client’s needs.

Keeping these workers on the job requires just as much, or more, effort than recruiting them does. Carol Regan says, “The situation for these workers is somewhat difficult: they’re really low-paid, most are part time, and there’s a tremendous amount of turnover.”

As entry-level healthcare workers, they are at the bottom of the pay scale, but Care N Assist exceeds the average with its pay when comparing us to the Home Care Pulse’s Annual Report. We recognize that a part time job is not what all employees want, but it is the flexibility of scheduling that attracts most of our star employees. When you read Regan’s material she states that there is an average 50% turnover rate in the industry. I am proud to say that our recent efforts have reduced that to an average of 22.5% in our offices.

I predict that we will continue to see the number of home care aides in the workforce increase, with the rising trend in clients desiring to receive services in their homes. As part of this trend, we continually innovate our service to meet client’s desire to live in their own home for as long as it is feasible. The win-win here is multifaceted: safe and satisfied clients where they want to be, this gives people jobs that fit their lifestyle, and truly gives them experiences that satisfy those who are caring in heart.